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John L. Hines, Jr.

Senior Counsel
fax +1 312.985.5972

John L. Hines, Jr. works with clients seeking to realize value from intellectual property, technology, data, and other information and software technology assets through licenses, joint ventures, M&A, and cloud and other technology services agreements.

John has counseled clients on software and information technology matters for about 25 years through industry evolutions involving computing, the Internet, mobility, cloud, IOT, and, more recently, artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics and sensor technologies. John works with clients to create go-to-market transactional models for development, licensing and commercialization of information technologies, with increasing emphasis on helping clients protect and commercialize data. John regularly counsels clients on their rights under the Copyright Act, and, in that context, he continues to help clients navigate the use of open source software in development projects, transactional due diligence and contractual risk allocation.

Earlier in his career, John was a litigator and represented clients in the state and federal courts in criminal defense matters, civil rights claims, shareholder and commercial disputes, and intellectual property litigation. John continues to provide intellectual property litigation support and assists clients in resolving copyright and contract disputes pertaining to rights allocations and infringements.

Education

J.D., Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, Illinois, 1981, Articles Editor, Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology
A.B., Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 1978

Recognitions

Named a Leading Lawyer in Chicago by Leading Lawyers℠ (2004 – 2025)

Memberships

American Bar Association (Intellectual Property Law Section (IP Transactions and Licensing Committee); Science and Technology Section)

Erikson Institute, Board of Trustees (Past Board Chair)

Chicago-Kent College of Law, Former Adjunct Faculty Member

Northwestern University School of Law, Former Adjunct Faculty Member

State Bar Licenses

Illinois
Software Development and Security
Navigating Technology Field with Intellect and Creativity by John Hines in Illinois Leading Lawyers Business Edition (2014)
Articles
  • Author, “USCO Releases Part 2 of its Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence,” National Law Review (February 12, 2025) [Link]
  • Author, “Further AI Guidance from U.S. Copyright Office Coming in January”, National Law Review (January 2, 2025) [Link]
  • Author, “Software Licensing,” (Chapter 19) Intellectual Property Law, 2025 Edition (IICLE) (with a Note on Artificial Intelligence)
  • Co-Author, “Fair Use and Warhol’s Prince Silkscreens,” May 24, 2023 [Link]
  • Co-Author, “Artificial Intelligence and Inventorship: Federal Court of Appeals Determines That Patent Inventors Must Be Human”, August 2022 [Link]
  • Co-Author, “Copyright, Software, and Fair Use: the Supreme Court decides Google v. Oracle” (Clark Hill), April 2021 [Link]
  • Co-Author, “Teaching Traps for the Unwary – How to Use Copyrighted Material Safely” (Clark Hill), April 2020 [Link]
  • Co-Author, “The New Trade Secrets Law: What it Means for Your Business” (Clark Hill), June 2016 [Link]
  • Author, “Corporate Reputation and Information Management,” First Chair Magazine, July 12, 2013 [Link]
  • Author, “Copyright Licensing,” 30 Licensing Journal 3 in February 2010 and re-published as Chapter 3 in Licensing Update, 2012 (Aspen Publishers).
  • Co-Author, “Federal Court Rules that Open Source Licenses are Enforceable under Copyright Law,” Thomson West’s Corporate Counsel’s Licensing Letter, 2008
  • Co-Author, “Legal Issues for E-Commerce Start-Ups to Consider,” (Chapter 19) Intellectual Property Law (IICLE), 2008
  • Co-Author, “Beating Vendor Lockdown: Negotiating Software Licenses for Your Organization,” 24 ACC Docket 2, 45, 2006
  • Co-Author, “Anonymity, Immunity & Online Defamation: Managing Corporate Exposure to Reputation Injury,” 4 Sedona Conf. J. 97 (2003), (recipient of a 2004 Burton Award for law firm legal scholarship), cited in EEOC v. Severn Treat Services, Inc., 358 F.3d 438 (7th Cir.2004) (Posner, J.)
  • Author, “Jurisdiction: Should Nations Extend their Legal Reach Beyond Their Borders?” Public policy comment on behalf of the Internet Society, 2003
Presentations
  • Panelist, “The State of AI Copyright Litigation” Hosted by Wickard.ai, The National Law Review, and The Sedona Conference, December 12, 2024 [Link]
  • Panelist, “Current Topics in International Intellectual Property Law and Artificial Intelligence,” American Society of International Law, October 29, 2024
  • Dialogue leader, “Copyright Policy and Law in the Age of AI,” The Sedona Conference on AI and the Law, Part 2: AI and IP Law,  June 20-21, 2024 [Link]
  • Speaker “SaaS and Cloud: At the Intersection of IP and Data Protection,” April 2, 2024 [Link]
  • Presenter, Software Development and Security (Video Blog) Asset 360 Views, August 2020
  • Speaker, “Digital Transactions: The Global Legal Framework for E-signatures and Records,” American Bar Association, Webinar, October 12, 2016
  • Speaker, “Drafting Technology Policies to Protect Your Organization’s Technology Assets,” 31st Annual Employment Law Conference, Livonia/Detroit, April 29, 2015
  • Speaker, “Cloud Contracting: Legal Issues in the Cloud – Insights on How to Navigate the Shifting Skies and Effectively Manage Risk,” CloudCast ‘14, Phoenix, January 2014
  • Speaker, “Copyright Licensing,” Practicing Law Institute (Understanding the Intellectual Property License) in November 2009 – 2012
  • Speaker and Panelist, “Redefining “Free”: A Look at Open Source Software Management,” Sixth Annual Symposium of the Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property (March 2010), proceedings published at 8 Nw. J. Tech. & Intell. Prop. 425, 2010
  • Speaker and Panelist, “Anatomy of a Software License,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute in February 2009. (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia)
  • Speaker and Panelist, “Open Source Licensing,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute in July 2008. (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia)

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